Alright, are you ready for the first recipe preview from the VYY cookbook?

This is one of my favorite recipes in the book. I make it almost once a week. It’s the perfect creamy pasta sauce when you’re feeling like alfredo. It’s also a great sauce for casseroles, over steamed veggies, on top of lasagna — wherever you want a basic creamy sauce. So not only is it really versatile, but it’s also really quick!

The whole sauce is made in a blender, so the faster you can toss ingredients into a blender, the faster it’s done. This also makes it super easy for additions. Recently I’ve been adding whole roasted red peppers (the kind they sell water-packed in jars).

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the book on the 16th!

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Note to Testers
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I’ve finally received my author copies of the book! Therefore I’m ready to mail my awesome testers their free copy! Since testing was done two years ago, I need updated addresses. If you were a tester, please email me at lolo @ veganyumyum.com with your current address and I’ll get a book to you in the mail! Many thanks for all your hard work!

The book is out! Watch the video for more info. In short, you can grab it now, but it’d be awesome if you can wait a week until September 16th, the official release date!

Thank you so much, all of you! Your support made this happen! I hope you enjoy the book.

This week my publisher and I had some disagreements we could not work out. The result is I will not be publishing with Herbivore, and therefore the book will not be available for the holidays like I had so hoped it would be.

I cannot tell you how sorry I am that the book is going to be delayed. I’m super upset that this didn’t work out; this wasn’t an easy decision for me to make since I want my book published as much as anyone. To have it happen this late in the game is especially depressing.

You all have been such wonderful supporters of me, and I can’t thank you enough for that. Without you there wouldn’t be a book at all. Rest assured that I am actively searching out a new publisher, and I will work as hard as I can to get the book out as soon as possible.

The kicker is that this especially affects the people who have already pre-ordered a book–the very people who are most excited to about it. If you’re one of those people I can do nothing but offer my utmost apologies, and assure you that you will be refunded 100%.

If you purchased a book, Herbivore will refund you automatically. You do not need to contact them in order to receive your refund.

Again, I’m really, really sorry about all this. Believe me when I say I’m trying my best to get the book back on track.

I will be at the Boston Vegetarian Festival on October 20th, giving out free stuff! Come and say hello, and I’ll give you a FREE mini-cookbook which is 12 pages long and features three recipes from my upcoming book. There will also be free buttons and stickers for the masses. I’d love love love to meet you and give you fun, free stuff!

Look for me at/next to the Herbivore table! I will be the short-haired blonde woman looking slightly embarrassed and smiling nervously.

You should also come to the festival to get a copy of Isa and Terry’s new book, Veganomicon. I was a tester for this book, and it’s totally awesome. Everyone needs a copy of it. Last I checked, everyone includes you, so get your butt to the festival!

I really hope to see you there! It would be so neat to meet you.

Oh, I also just updated my About page–it now contains information about my book and links to other places on the internet that mention me, my recipes, or my book. That part is mostly for my mom, though. Have a good weekend!

Well hello there!

I do apologize for my absence, but I have a good excuse. I’ve finished the manuscript for my cookbook! We hope to have the book available for pre-order November 1st, and to start shipping December 1st. Hooray!

This also means I’ll be able to focus on the blog again. To celebrate all this wonderful news, I thought I’d share a recipe that will be in the book. Who doesn’t like blueberry waffles?

These waffles are great, but I especially like making waffles because they freeze so well. Having a waffle just out of the iron is a wonderful experience, but for me, it’s equally as wonderful to be able to go from sleepy pillow-creased face to homemade waffle breakfast in less than five minutes, just by popping some frozen waffles in the toaster.

When I created this recipe I was out of maple syrup, so I concocted a lemon icing to go with the waffles. It’s a super tasty way to enjoy them, but you can never go wrong with maple syrup in my opinion.

Edited to add: These work as pancakes, too! Thanks for reminding me, Esme!

Fresh Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Icing
Makes 10 Waffles

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Tbs Sugar

1 Container Blueberry Soy Yogurt (Scant 2/3 Cup)
1 1/3 Cup Soy Milk
5 Tbs Water
1/3 Cup Oil

1 Cup Fresh Blueberries (*see note about using frozen)
Spray Oil for the waffle iron

*If using frozen blueberries, keep them in the freezer until the last second. Reserve 1-2 Tbs of your dry mixture. When you’re ready to add the blueberries, take them out of the freezer, measure them and mix them with the reserved dry mixture. Then fold them into your mixed batter in NO MORE than three (3!!) folds. This will prevent your batter from turning a gray-purple color.

Preheat your waffle iron.

Mix all the dry ingredients together well with a whisk. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry, then gently fold in berries.

Spray your waffle iron with a little bit of oil and make a test waffle. In my waffle maker, 1/2 cup of batter is perfect for a single waffle, and they cook for 10 minutes. Follow the instructions or your preferred directions for your waffle maker. This recipe makes 10 waffles if each waffle uses 1/2 cup of batter.

Lemon Icing
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
2-4 Tbs Soy Milk

Mix in a blender until smooth. You can do it without a blender if you feel like sifting your powdered sugar to make sure there are no lumps.

So how do you feel about freezing tofu?

Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t. Freezing definitely changes the texture of the tofu. It makes it… hole-ier? My totally unscientifically proven theory is that while tofu looks like a homogenous material, it’s not. When it freezes, the water expands in different areas, leaving behind little miniature tofu caves when you thaw it. This makes the tofu rather sponge-like. This can be good or bad, depending.

It certainly makes your tofu easier to press. You can almost wring it out over the sink like a sponge. Squeeze it between your palms and voila, pressed tofu. But it will suck up liquid just as easily as it releases it. If you’re making baked tofu, use a milder marinade than you might normally, and use more of it. It’s going to suck it up like nobody’s business.

Here, I cubed it and stir-fried it. Frozen tofu is an okay candidate for stir-frying, but beware. It’ll soak up oil just like anything else. “Wow, I thought I put oil in the pan.. where’d it go? Better add more!” You’ll find it later. A tofu cube full of hot oil isn’t my idea of fun. I’d recommend using something non-stick here to prevent an unfortunate dining experience.

But it’s okay if it sticks a little. It’s actually preferable. When it sticks, you can scrape off the sticky parts and you get these fun, crispy tofu crumble things in your final dish. The cubes don’t suffer for it, you just get some great added texture.

This recipe isn’t anything earth shattering, but it’s fast, easy, and super adaptable.

Tofu Kale Stir-fry
Serves two

1-2 Tbs Oil
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, cubed
1 Bunch Kale, deveined and ripped into small pieces
1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
1/4+ tsp Ginger Powder (or a bit of fresh ginger, minced)
2 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari
2 tsp Sugar (for a sweeter version, optional)

Heat the oil on high in a well seasoned wok or large non-stick pan. Add tofu carefully, avoiding hot angry oil splatters. Use a wooden spoon to move the tofu around, until it begins to color.

Add kale, chili flakes, and ginger. Cook well, stirring and scraping bits off the bottom, until tofu is golden and kale is getting brown caramelized spots on it. Add tamari and optional sugar, stir well for a few moments, serve immediately with fresh ground pepper over the top.

What’s that in the background? A little green bean salad from the cookbook. I made the salty version of the stir-fry because the salad was sweet

I’m getting really excited about my upcoming cookbook. Herbivore will be publishing it, which is fantastic, and we hope to have it in people’s hands by November 15th of this year. You will be able to order it direct from Herbivore, on Amazon, and a few other places as well.

It’s going to be great!

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the recipes that will be in the book:

Sheera – An Indian Cream of Wheat

Aloo Matar

Delicata Squash stuffed with Cherry Almond Apple Couscous

Sugar and Spice Snap Peas

Velvety Vegetable Soup

Strawberry Rambutan Boba Tea

I’m really happy about all the recipes so far, but I must say, I’m a little overly excited about the boba tea. All the commercially available mixes I’ve found are not vegan (they contain “non-dairy” creamers contianing, you guessed it, dairy). I’ve figured out a way to make a boba tea powder you can mix up at home in bulk. Yippee! Boba tea for everyone!

I also wanted to give a quick shout-out to my 70+ testers who are helping me make sure the recipes work. You guys rock, I wouldn’t be able to do this without you! Thanks!

Yesterday, I made a trifle recipe for the cookbook. I used these adorable miniature trifle glasses (ahem, Target), and I was really pleased with the results. Then I tried to eat one. Now I certainly have a sweet tooth, but I got about half-way through that this puppy before I had to give up.

I wasn’t sure what to do about the proportion sizes for the cookbook recipe. Should I just make regular, large trifles? I’m too big of a fan of individual desserts to go that route. Then I started wondering who even owns trifle dishes, let alone miniature ones. What could I serve them in instead? What do people generally already own?

Since I was bloated from the “miniature” trifle, I started to think small. Really small. Shotglass small.

Ahhh. There. Much better! But why stop at shot glasses? Why not make an assortment of cocktail glass trifles? Not only does it look fun to have a bunch of mismatched glasses full of dessert, but this way your guests (should you be making this for a cocktail party, which I highly recommend!) can choose the size dessert they’re in the mood for. Just want a taste? Have a trifle shot! In for something more substantial? How about a trifle martini?

Bottoms up!

People over at the PPK have finally begun to notice that I’m incapable of making a dessert that isn’t miniature. Mini apple pies, mini doughnuts, mini pineapple upside down cakes, mini layer cakes, mini cupcakes, and now mini tarts.

I just can’t help myself.

But who can resist a tiny dessert? Any sweet treat is even more appealing to me in a diminutive size. I also admit that I am completely in love with miniature utensils. If I see a mini pie plate, tart shell, or any other miniscule dish or pan and I’m wont to buy it.

This was my first attempt at a fruit tart and was I ever pleased. I made a lemon “cream” for the filling, and next I’m going to try a traditional lemon curd–well, as traditional is you can be without using eggs. Or butter. We’ll see how it goes.

The tart shells are whole wheat pastry flour, which is something I debated. I didn’t want a heavy or gritty crust, but something light, sweet and flakey. I couldn’t be happier with how it came out. I need to use whole wheat pastry flour more often. I definitely didn’t give it enough credit.

I glazed them with some violet jelly I found at the same market where I purchased the pea tendrils. When I got home I realized the the jelly I bought wasn’t set at all – it was really more like a violet glaze, even after refrigeration. What better use for it then? The light violet flavor really compliments the berries.

I just can’t wait for my CSA shares to start coming in, so yesterday I went to a farmers market in downtown Boston. My hopes were high, and I spent the entire train ride imagining all the fun greens and maybe even baby spring vegetables I’d bring home. When I arrived, the first tent was full of flowers. The next, herbs. Then there was a bread and pastry tent, some more herbs and flowers, and… that was it.

Where are my vegetables!

I milled around the short string of tents, walking up and down the line, desperately trying to find something other than impatiens and coffee cake. Then I started asking myself, “well, do I need a $25 two year old rosemary plant?” I wanted the answer to be yes, but I kept moving. Finally, tucked between chocolate mint and calla lilies was a huge basket of… leaves? Vines? I wasn’t sure what it was, but it looked like I could eat it. The sign said, “Organic Sweet Pea Tendrils – $3/box.”

I marched up and said, “I’ll take a box, please” as the man behind the table was trying to offer me a sample. “oh,” he said, “you’ll just buy some then?” He probably had spent most of the morning explaining what pea tendrils are and handing out samples to convince people that they really are tasty and you really should eat them. But not me! I’m used to buying mysterious vegetables.

I have a bit of an addiction to trying new and interesting greens. I had no idea, of course, that you could eat pea tendrils. I had no clue as to what they tasted like, but I didn’t care! I wanted a box of that leafy mass he was standing behind; I’d figure out the details later. Of course, as soon as I got home I spent an hour googling them, all the while wishing I had asked a few questions when I bought them.

So here’s what I found out: they are usually lightly stir fried in Chinese cooking, but I think that pertains to pea tendrils that are a bit older and sturdier than the ones I bought. The tendrils I came home with were very delicate, almost the same texture as the clover you have growing in your lawn but with crisper stems. I had no desire to cook them at all, so I whipped up this salad. I did keep the asian flavors, though, by using daikon radish and a sesame soy dressing.

I hope I find them again before spring is over. They are deliciously crisp and sweet, and they taste like peas! Their texture is nice balance between the soft leaves and the thin crispy stems. They don’t keep well, so if you find them at a farmers market or elsewhere, be prepared to eat them that day. I hear you can even grow them yourself quite easily, even indoors.

In short, I’m in love with pea tendrils. You should be, too.