Thursday, January 25, 2007

Vegan With a Vengeance Strikes Again

I was thumbing thru my beloved warped and stained copy of VWaV in preparation of trying out the Samosas I saw Chris and Darlene enjoy recently and realized I didn't even remember the Spinach and Millet Polenta recipe being there.

I love polenta but try not to make it too often as I see corn as having the potentia
l to be too much of a good thing, but the thought of making a polenta from millet? bring. it. on. people!

This stuff, topped with the almond and sundried tomato pesto included with that recipe, is nothing short of amazing. and easy! I conveniently had made some veggie stock last night so everything came together in a snap. and the flavor? I'M HOOKED!
The only thing that could make this better is if i try my hand at baking it instead of frying it and find that it still gets all crunchy on the outside. heaven.

oh, and note to self: pack the millet into the molds very tight as the spinach will cause it to tear more readily when cutting it if it's not already packed in reeeally well.

And speaking of culinary genius....had a little bit of that in my own kitchen last night, thanks to Crystal, Dori, and Linda having reminded me of the versatility of a favorite vegan food among all of us.


Upon a suggestion from the Cap'n the other night. I stuffed some lingering mushrooms with a little of the Lentil Walnut Burger mix I'd made up, then roasted them.
They were ok, but they needed something. something to make the texture work (the beany filling was not as smooth as I wanted next to the mushroom and the flavor was just a bit off...a little bland). so, like many of you have enjoyed with all your cupcake baking (oh, how i long to jump on that wagon...but i fear once i start i won't ever stop! hehe), I piped in some of my favorite store-bought hummus into the middle and out the top.perfection! what a great combo i may never have pieced together had hummus not been on my mind after my quesadilla mess. thanks, chicas!


8 comments:

Dori said...

The mushrooms caps have to be one of my favorite foods is I were to have one, but I don't have just one I have many so I cannot make this statement.

Glad you enjoyed the hummous.

I made some mushrooms caps stuffed with a brussel sprout mixture that i really like, maybe you would to:

http://thebakehouse.blogspot.com/
2006/04/yaki-soba-wonton-muffins.
html#comments

Anonymous said...

perfection is right. i love mushrooms any which way you stuff them!

Jul said...

That millet polenta was one of the first recipes I tried out of VwaV - soooo yummy! Your polenta came out looking much nicer than mine.

And I've been making that sundried tomato pesto to put on almost anything that needs added flavor.

Melissa said...

Everything looks delicious as usual!

You look like Mandy Moore in your new-er picture. Do you get that a lot?

Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! said...

oooh, dori, thank you! i love all things mushrooms and all things brussel sprouts so I'm thinking you're sharing with me what will soon become a favorite food obsession (some obsessions are good, right? ;)

megan- meeeeee too!

jul- i can't believe i missed it before, it's positively yummy! i found that more patience than i normally EVER have in the kitchen is required to allow the millet to crisp up like that. i hope it does the same in the oven! LOVE that pesto. so simple and fresh tasting!

melissa- thank you, i love making food and photographing but my aforementioned constant impatience means that i rarely work too hard on the camera work. i just keep clicking til i get one that's not blurry. hehe
mandy moore? there's a compliment! i have to say you're the first. hehe. i get a lot of 'you look just like someone i used to know' but not all that many celeb references.
since becoming vegan and running daily i've lost thirty lbs (when you're short like I am this is a huuuuge change!) so it's nice to feel good about how ya look, ya know? better yet? i feel amazing.

Melissa said...

Maybe its just because the picture is small, but whatever :P
Wow I wish I had the motivation to run every day. I am trying to lose weight though. I'm pretty tall and 30 pounds would make a huge difference too :)

Anonymous said...

Wow... it's amazing that I've probably tried at least half the recipes in VwaV and still there's so many more good ones left. I've yet to try the millet polenta but now it's on my list!

Anonymous said...

yum, i must try some of this things!