Robin Robertson’s Global Kitchen

Easy Peanut Sauce

by Robin Robertson on October 13, 2011

During this Vegan Month of Food, I have designated themes for each day of the week. This is “Food for Thought” Thursday, and today my thoughts are about peanut butter in general and my favorite easy peanut sauce in particular.

I think of peanut butter as kind of an ambassador for vegan food. High in protein and rich in flavor, a little peanut butter goes a long way. It’s one of those ingredients that has historically, in the U.S. at least, been shrugged off as little more than an ingredient for a popular lunchbox sandwich. However, in other parts of the world, from African to Asia, peanut butter is enjoyed in all manner of dishes, from stews and soups, to appetizers, sauces, sides, and desserts.

In recent years, this unassuming spread has been overshadowed by pricier nut butters made from almonds, cashews, and other nuts and seeds. Still, it was peanut butter that was first developed in the U.S. by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in the 1890s as a high-protein health food and meat alternative. (Let’s hear it for Dr. Kellogg!)

One of my favorite ways to enjoy peanut butter is in a spicy peanut sauce. Variations of peanut sauce can be found throughout many Asian cuisines. Over the years, I’ve made countless versions, some cooked, some raw, sometimes thin, other times thick. I’ve varied the sweetener, used lime juice or rice vinegar to add tartness, and changed up the heat source.

My all-time favorite version is also the easiest and it can be found on page 202 of Vegan Fire and Spice. I have since tinkered a bit more with that recipe, adding a little Thai chili sauce and increasing the volume a bit so there’s enough to use as a sauce for noodles or pasta as shown in the photo. (I made this peanutty pasta dish for a recent cooking demo in Baltimore.)

Here, then, is the recipe for my latest favorite peanut sauce. The amount of water you add will depend on whether you’re using it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls or tossing with pasta and vegetables, and so on.

(Easy) Spicy Peanut Sauce

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Asian chili paste

About 1/2 cup water

In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Mix until well blended. Stir in as much water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Use at once or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

ALMOST FORGOT…..Since I haven’t heard from the winner of Party Vegan, Random.org has chosen a NEW WINNER. It is Lucky #17 – Toni D.!!! Congrats, Toni. E-mail me with your address and I’ll get a copy of Party Vegan in the mail to you.

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Wildcard Wednesday: Vegan on Vacation

by Robin Robertson on October 12, 2011

After working non-stop for what seems like forever, Jon and I got away for a few days recently and took the train to Providence, Rhode Island. We wanted to see WaterFire again, and also to visit Newport. I love to travel by train — not only is it often cheaper and more convenient than air travel, but it can actually be relaxing and the travel time is about the same as it would be by car. You can bring your own food to enjoy on the train, although they do have a few vegan choices in the cafe car. Along about lunchtime, we tucked into a nice crisp romaine salad that featured chickpeas and couscous, along with a flavorful vinaigrette dressing.

In Providence, we found a reasonable selection of vegan options while dining out. Among them were two fabulous meals that stood out. On our first night in town we went to Apsara Palace, an unassuming restaurant that serves spectacular Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, and Chinese cuisines. Even though we arrived early on a Wednesday evening, the place was crowded with locals and it stayed full the entire evening. Our server was knowledgeable and friendly, and the food was among the best of its kind I’ve had anywhere. We shared a vegan appetizer platter that featured fresh nime chow with two sauces, vegetable dumplings, scallion pancakes, among other delights. The satay noodle dish was at once spicy and sublime. And the lemongrass tofu — heavenly.

On our last day in town, and on the other side of town, in Little Italy, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a wonderful Italian store that was like a Disneyland of Italian ingredients. I actually brought an extra suitcase along on our trip because I knew I wouldn’t be leaving that shop empty-handed. At Costantino’s Venda Ravioli, I bought several packages of pasta shapes that I’ve rarely seen outside of Italy, as well dry-roasted favas and chickpeas, black olive paste, and a few other goodies. (This is a photo of one of their gift packages — not what I actually bought!)

Before my shopping spree, however, we devised our own customized vegan lunch platters from among the sprawling deli counters that fill the store. Artichokes were prepared fried, stuffed, marinated, and grilled. And we tried some of each! Broccoli rabe sauteed in garlic, roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes, and grilled green and white asparagus, all found their way to our plates. And, oh, the olives! Seated at one of the little café tables in the store, we savored our wonderful meal and just for a minute it felt like we were actually in Tuscany.

I discovered one other thing on our trip: I’m really bad at remembering to take the camera — it spent most of our trip inside a suitcase at the hotel. So, sorry, no photos of our wonderful vacation food!

Party Vegan Giveaway Update: I have yet to hear from Monday’s winner of Party Vegan. If I don’t here from Bagheera Yoga by Thursday morning, Random.org will choose another winner from among those who left a comment on that post.

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Orecchiette with Puttanesca Pesto

by Robin Robertson on October 11, 2011

As promised, this “Tester Recipe Tuesday” post contains more tester photos from my new book, Quick-Fix Vegan (released last week), as well as one of my favorite recipes from the book. If you follow my blog, you know that I’m addicted to the flavors of puttanesca — garlic, olives, capers, tomatoes, and basil. In addition to regular pasta puttanesca, I’ve made a puttanesca pizza, puttanesca tofu scramble, and more. So it should come as no surprise that I’ve included a recipe for puttanesca pesto in Quick-Fix Vegan.

The recipe for Orecchiette with Puttanesca Pesto (photo above) is included at the end of this post. This recipe was a “tester favorite” and the luscious pesto can be used on more than just pasta. Try it on baked potatoes, tossed with couscous or rice, spread on toasted sliced baguette, or baked in little puff pastry bites. One recipe tester mixed some with mashed avocado and used it as a dip for olive and caper tortilla chips. Yum.

Another tester favorite from Quick-Fix Vegan is this Mac and Cheeseburger Bake, satisfying comfort food that can be assembled in minutes and baked when you’re ready to eat. FYI, Quick-Fix Vegan contains one chapter of easy make-ahead bakes — sometimes having a casserole assembled in the fridge ready to pop in the oven can be the quickest fix of all!

This Lemon-Cashew Cream Sauce has it all: quick and easy to make, versatile, and absolutely delicious. Shown here over roasted Brussels sprouts, this sauce is also great over other vegetables, cooked grains, bean patties, or tossed with pasta.

If you’re already enjoying Quick-Fix Vegan, I hope you’ll help spread the word. A review on your blog and/or Amazon would be most appreciated. Now here’s that recipe:

Orecchiette with Puttanesca Pesto

It’s no secret that puttanesca sauce is my favorite way to enjoy pasta. But I like pesto, too. With this lush puttanesca pesto, now I can enjoy them both at the same time, and in the time it takes to cook the pasta, the pesto is finished and food processor cleaned. If orrechiette (little ears) are unavailable, use your favorite pasta instead – medium pasta shells are a good choice. For a “saucier” pesto, add up to 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water to the pesto after processing. This recipe is from Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson © 2011. Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

12 ounces orrechiette

5 garlic cloves

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1/3 cup pitted green olives

1 fresh ripe tomato, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Cook the orrechiette in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, place the garlic in a blender or food processor and process until finely minced. Add both kinds of olives, both kinds of tomatoes, parsley, basil, capers, and oil and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the pasta is cooked drain it and return to the pot. Add the pesto and toss to combine. Serve hot.

Serves 4

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“Make My Monday” Winner and a NEW Giveaway!

by Robin Robertson on October 10, 2011

Is it Monday again already? Wow. I’ve been out of town for a few days, hence my lack of MoFo posts — but I’ll make up for them, I promise. For now, though, let’s get down to business. It’s time to announce the “Make My Monday” Giveaway winner from last week’s contest. The prize: a copy of Party Vegan. The winner (chosen by Random.org) is: Bagheera Yoga — whose favorite holiday food is sweet potatoes. Congrats!!! Send me your e-mail and I’ll get a copy of Party Vegan in the mail to you. 10/13 UPDATE: No response from original winner, so new winner was chosen by Random.org: #17 – Toni D.

Thanks to all who entered — it was so fun to read what everyone likes to eat on holidays! There will be a giveaway here each Monday during Mofo, so keep on entering — you just may win!

This week’s new “Make My Monday” Giveaway is for a copy of my cookbook Vegan Fire and Spice, filled with recipes from around the world that you can make as spicy as you like. One of my personal favorites from this book is this Red Hot Chile Tofu:

Even if you already have a copy of Vegan Fire and Spice, you can enter anyway — if you win, you can give it as a gift or use it for your own giveaway. One lucky winner will be selected at random. To enter, just answer this question in the comment section of this post: “What is your favorite hot and spicy ingredient?”

If you want to earn additional entries, you can do any or all of the following, and leave me a comment for each one that you do:

1. Follow me on Twitter: @GlobalVegan
2. Subscribe to my blog
3. Link to this giveaway on Twitter
4. Link to this giveaway on Facebook
5. Link to this giveaway on your blog

The contest closes Sunday Oct 16 at midnight, and the winner will be announced in next Monday’s post, which will also include a new “Make My Monday” Giveaway! So, enter now: “What’s YOUR favorite hot and spicy ingredient?”

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Quick-Fix Vegan Now Available

by Robin Robertson on October 4, 2011

Today is the official release date for my new book, Quick-Fix Vegan. And since this is my “Tester Tuesday” MoFo post, it seems fitting to feature some recipe tester photos from the new book. Above is the Green Papaya and Tofu Salad. Here are a few more of my favorites — this is Curried Pasta with Chickpeas and Chutney:

Here is Shortcut Mushroom-Artichoke Risotto:

And these little cuties are Ginger-Cashew Chocolate Truffles:

In a recent post I listed many of the recipe titles in Quick-Fix Vegan, plus there’s the handy “look inside” feature on Amazon. This new cookbook is like a companion volume (or volume 2) to my earlier book, Quick-Fix Vegetarian (which was also vegan, btw).

If you like quick and easy vegan food (and who doesn’t?), I hope you’ll get my new “quick-fix” book. Sample recipes coming soon!

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“Make My Monday” Cookbook Giveaway

by Robin Robertson on October 3, 2011

Welcome to my first “Make My Monday” Giveaway for MoFo. This week’s prize is a copy of one of my personal favorites: Party Vegan: Fabulous, Fun Food for Every Occasion.

Did you know that Party Vegan isn’t just about parties? Organized by menu, this book has you covered for holiday dinners, potlucks, casual get-togethers, or any time at all — even weeknight meals. Loaded with great tips for entertaining, this giveaway comes just in time for the holidays that are fast approaching — so you can make a batch of Savory Pumpkin Muffins (like this one), along with the rest of the orange and black Halloween menu.

If you’d like a chance to win a free copy of Party Vegan, simply leave me a comment at the end of this post with an answer to this question: “What’s your favorite holiday food?”

One lucky winner will be selected at random. And if you want to earn additional entries, you can do any or all of the following, and leave me a comment for each one 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 Oct 9 at midnight, and the winner will be announced in next Monday’s post, which will also include a new “Make My Monday” Giveaway! So, enter now: What’s YOUR favorite holiday food?”

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