Robin Robertson’s Global Kitchen

Quick-Fix Vegan: Global Tester Tour

by Robin Robertson on October 18, 2011

This “Tester Tuesday” post features more recipe tester photos from my new book, Quick-Fix Vegan: Healthy, Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less. These particular photos are a mini-tour of recipes from around the world. At the top of this post you see luscious Spicy Smoked Portobello Tacos — so easy to make and loaded with flavor. Mushrooms never tasted so good!
Here is another favorite, Deconstructed Bahn Mi Salad — if you’re a fan of my blog, you know how much I love the flavors in a bahn mi sandwich — heck, I’ve even made a bahn mi pizza! But for those times when you want all the flavor without all the bread, this salad is the answer. You can make it with your choice of seitan or tofu and garnish with a few slices of toasted baguette.

Speaking of seitan, here’s an elegant and delicious way to serve it. Seitan Forestiere is made with a creamy mushroom sauce inspired by the classic sauce of the same name.

Finally, we have the Special Spicy Empanadas. Made with a puff pastry dough and a sweet potato and pinto bean filling, these empanadas can be assembled in a flash (even faster if you have a leftover baked sweet potato) and bake up in just 20 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip around the world with Quick-Fix Vegan. Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me about my new book, and also to those who’ve mentioned it on their blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon. I’m very appreciative that this book is being so well received and hope you’ll continue to help me get the word out to others about it.

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Another Monday, Another Winner — and a New Giveaway

by Robin Robertson on October 17, 2011

How better to brighten a Monday than with a new cookbook giveaway! But first, it’s time to announce the winner of last week’s giveaway. The winner (chosen randomly via Random.org) of a copy of Vegan Fire and Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes is: #15 – Celyn. Congratulations, Celyn! Please e-mail me with your mailing address and I’ll get the book right out to you.

And now for a new “Make My Monday” giveaway. This week’s prize is a copy of Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cuisine Cookbook and Survival Guide. My husband Jon write the survival guide section (a must-have for whenever the power goes out — we lived through a few hurricanes, so I know) and I wrote the 80 recipes, all of which can be made using only pantry ingredients and can be ready in less than 15 minutes. The best part of these recipes is their versatility: if you have fresh or frozen ingredients, you can use them, but if you only have canned or dehydrated ingredients, these recipes can be invaluable.

Many of these recipes, such as the Samosadillas shown above, as well as the Almost-Instant Black Bean Chili and Puttanesca in a Pinch are regulars in my house. Here’s another favorite — Moroccan-Spiced Vegetable Stew:

These recipes are quick, easy, and delicious. What more could one ask for, except maybe these no-bake Ginger Rum Balls:

To win a copy of Vegan Unplugged, just leave a comment at the end of this post that answers this question: What is your favorite pantry ingredient? That’s it! One lucky winner will be selected at random. And if you want to increase your chances, you can do any or all of the following, and leave a comment for each that you do:
1. Follow me on Twitter: @GlobalVegan
2. Link to this giveaway on Twitter

3. Link to this giveaway on Facebook

4. Link to this giveaway on your blog

The contest closes Sunday night 10/23 at midnight. The winner will be announced next Monday 10/24, when there will also be another new giveaway! So, tell me, what’s YOUR favorite pantry ingredient?

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National Feral Cat Day: Meet Jason

by Robin Robertson on October 16, 2011

On Facebook today, I posted about this being National Feral Cat Day. Visit Alley Cat Allies to find out how you can help these wonderful cats. I realized that not all of my blog readers also follow me on Facebook, so I thought I’d repost this information here as well as tell you a bit about the feral cat we share our lives with. Meet Jason Jeff Robertson.

Jason is our beloved semi-feral cat. He “came with the house” when we moved here — the previous owner called him “Kitty Brother” — he fed him daily but he remained feral. He’s about 9 years old now and he lets me pet him, though he remains cautious. Jon built him a great house on our deck and Jason seems content to be “semi-feral” — he loves being in the woods on our property, but enjoys the refuge of his house in bad weather, as well as the love, attention, food, and water he gets from us daily.

Jason resembles our cat Gary, so much so that when we first saw Jason, we thought Gary had escaped the house — although in reality, Gary is about twice Jason’s size. Gary and Jason “play” with each other through the glass storm door. Mitzki doesn’t care for Jason, but then she’s not all that crazy about Gary either.

Here’s another photo of Jason, this time sitting on the roof of our shed:

Please visit Alley Cat Allies and do what you can to help feral cats. They need our support!

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Slow Cooker Sunday

by Robin Robertson on October 16, 2011

Sunday seems to be an ideal day for using the slow cooker because it allows you to get something cooking early in the day so that you are free to enjoy whatever the day may hold. Too often I’ve gotten caught up in enjoying a Sunday afternoon activity, only to find myself unprepared (or simply not in the mood) to make dinner Sunday evening. (Right now I have a stuffed buttercup squash in the slow cooker for tonight’s dinner. Can’t wait.)

As most of you know, I’m currently working on a new slow cooker cookbook. Recipe testing is going at full speed thanks to a great group of testers. Even though the book won’t hit the shelves for another year, I thought you might enjoy getting a sneak peek at some of the recipe testers’ photos.

There will be loads of vegetable and bean recipes in the book, including the Italian stew shown at the top of this post. There are also lots of hearty comfort food recipes such as these barbecue seitan ribs and scalloped potatoes:

And let’s not forget dessert. Here is a luscious zabaglione-inspired bread pudding:

And a delicious apple cake, perfect for this time of year, that is also 100% fat-free:

I hope you enjoyed this little advance preview of my new slow cooker book. I also want to thank you all who have written to me about how much you’re enjoying my current new book, Quick-Fix Vegan. I hope you will all help me spread the word about QFV on your blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as posting reviews on Amazon. Your help is most appreciated!

Coming up tomorrow: I will announce the winner of this week’s “Make My Monday” cookbook giveaway and launch another new giveaway, too!

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Coconut Pistachio Cookies

by Robin Robertson on October 15, 2011

It’s “Sweet-Tooth” Saturday so I thought I’d share one of my favorite cookie recipes from my new cookbook, Quick-Fix Vegan. These flavorful Coconut-Pistachio Cookies have a sublime elegance about them, owing to their snowy white color with flecks of green pistachio. They mix up quickly in the food processor, then you just roll out the dough and cut it into your favorite shapes. Recipe tester (and baker extraordinaire) Lea Jacobson (who also took this photo) came up with the idea of using a pastry cutter to cut the dough into squares (or rectangles) which was quicker and easier than using a cookie cutter — and no wasted dough scraps. For variations, you can use nuts other than pistachios, and, you can use a gluten-free flour blend to make these delectable cookies gluten-free.

Many thanks to all who are already enjoying their copies of Quick-Fix Vegan. Please help me spread the word about this new book by posting reviews on Amazon or B and N, as well as on your blog and Facebook.

Coconut Pistachio Cookies

I love the elegant look of these white cookies with flecks of green pistachio. And their taste is sublime. You can cut them in any shape you want, or simply roll the dough into a rectangle and use a pastry cutter to cut squares — quick, easy, and best of all, no waste.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup chopped pistachios

1/3 cup flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a food processor combine the sugar, cream cheese, and vegan butter, and process until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and baking powder, and process until well combined. Do not overprocess. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the pistachios and coconut.

Mix well then transfer the cookie dough to a flat work surface between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter, pastry cutter, or small drinking glass to cut out the cookies and arrange them on the cookie sheets.

Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving.

Makes about 2 dozen

Oops, Ms. Mitzki just reminded me that it’s also “Caturday” and time for another lovely kitty photo:

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Orzo-Stuffed Zucchini

by Robin Robertson on October 14, 2011

It’s time for “Flashback Friday” when I feature a favorite post from the past. This week, the spotlight is on Orzo-Stuffed Zucchini, dating from July 2009. It was at a farmer’s market that summer when I discovered these adorable little round zucchini. They were between the size of a tennis ball and a baseball and I couldn’t wait to get them home to stuff them. I sliced off the tops and scooped out the insides, leaving about 1/4-inch shell all around. I cooked the shells in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, just to soften them slightly.

I knew the stuffing would have to feature tomatoes because I love the zucchini-tomato combination. I then got the idea to give it a puttanesca-inspired twist. I sautéed minced garlic in olive oil along with the chopped insides from the zucchini. I added chopped tomatoes, olives, and capers, seasoned with salt, pepper, and basil. I combined this fragrant mixture with some cooked orzo (the rice-sized pasta proved to be perfect for the stuffing) and a little chopped cooked chard that I had on hand to add some greens. I then stuffed the mixture inside each zucchini and baked them for about 20 minutes. I served these little beauties on a bed of the orzo-puttanesca mixture and they tasted as good as they looked. I haven’t seen these round zucchini since that one fateful encounter, but I keep looking — maybe I’ll find some next year.

While I was going through the posts from the summer of 2009, I found another favorite flashback from that time — this trio of delicious vegetables: roasted diced sweet potatoes and beets flanking some steamed spinach.

I thought it would be fun to give the spinach a similar appearance to the other cubed vegetables, so I shaped it into a narrow rectangle and used my chef’s knife to “dice” it. The resulting plate of vegetables looked almost too good to eat — and would be even better drizzled with some Lemon-Cashew Cream Sauce from Quick-Fix Vegan!

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