Veganomicon - Baja-Style Grilled Tempeh Tacos (review for slaw only)

Whilst i have made the whole recipe before and loved it, it's the slaw I keep coming back to!

The slaw is a delightful mix of red cabbage, carrots, pickled jalepeños and a marinade.  It's super quick to prepare (but does require time to sit and marinade) and the end result is divine!  We both love adding it to our tacos and like the tang and crunch it gives.

This is a recipe I just keep on going back to.

Final verdict: delicious, a definite keeper
Final score: 5 out of 5!

Vegan Vegan - Costa Rican Refried Beans and Rice (Gallo Pinto)

Again, another recipe I know I made years ago and just haven't made since for no apparent reason.

The recipe states to use either pink, black or red beans - I used black as I already had some cooked up in my freezer (I assume the pink beans would be pinto and the red beans would be kidney?).  It also calls for some of the bean cooking water as the liquid but I didn't have any as my beans were already cooked so I just used some broth - but I think it would have been much better with the bean cooking water to give it the proper consistency.

If I had already had some cooked rice, then this would have been a fairly quick recipe to make, but unfortunately I didn't so it was quite time consuming, cooking the rice and allowing it to cool.

I remember being absolutely wowed by this when I made it before, but this time it was just meh - maybe a bit bland?  The only change from the recipe I made was to omit the liquid smoke, as I had run out - but I'm not really sure that would have made a huge difference.  I'll maybe try again with the smoke, but if that doesn't make a vast difference I probably won't make again.

Final verdict: ok, but kinda bland
Final score: 3 out of 5

Vegan Brunch - Classic Broccoli Quiche

So, I knew that I had made this years ago as a full sized quiche and we had enjoyed it, and for some reason I decided it would be cute to make mini individual quiches!  And it was!

Niall and I LOVE broccoli, so that's a plus for this recipe.  The other big plus is the lack of nooch (nutritional yeast), and Niall cannot stomach it.  

I found this recipe pretty simple to make, but reasonably time consuming, especially if you include the time to make the pastry and then baking it in the over.  But a lot of the time is passive, so I don't mind that too much.  A bonus is that when making this recipe I have always had left overs - bonus!!

I have made a full recipe before and the filling makes enough for a 'normal'sized pie dish, or my square baking pan (not sure on size) but this time I did a half batch of the filling and found it made enough for 3 big, very filled-to-the-brim, muffin 'holes'.

I must remember next time to reduce the salt, because (like many American recipes) I did find the filling too salty.

Final verdict: tasty pie, reasonably easy to make but quite time consuming
Final score: 4 out of 5 (losing a point for saltiness and not being a quick recipe)

Viva Vegan - Pickled Red Onions

Whilst perusing my copy of Viva Vegan the other week, this recipe popped out at me....which is strange as I've never even noticed it before!

So after going out and buying some red onions (the only ingredient I didn't have on hand), I made this one evening.  As per the recommendation in the book, I made it the night before I actually wanted to have it for dinner - the book states it needs to be left to pickle for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Well, it was super easy to make and the end result.....I wasn't exactly sure what to make of it!  Trying it on it's own, I wasn't a fan - but loaded up on a quesadilla, I quite enjoyed it.  The recipe keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and so I had it the following week on soft tacos, and enjoyed it pretty fine that way too.  It added a nice crunch and a bit of tartness.

However, I wasn't blown away by it, and Niall really wasn't a fan, so I'm not sure I would make it again - and this time I don't mean that as in I won't make it again, rather I really am not sure!  I still can't decide whether I really enjoyed it, or didn't really like it.

Final verdict: I'm really not sure! Easy to make though.
Final score: 2.5 out of 5, as I really don't know what to make of it.

Viva Vegan - Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives

Ok, so I'm not really reviewing this recipe as is because I just used the empanada filling for soft tacos.

I didn't use the specified seitan recipe from the book as Niall doesn't tend to like homeade seitan and so instead used some canned mock duck.  I initially started grating it but that was just too difficult / fiddly so I ended up just chopping it up finely - and TBH that was absolutely fine.

I didn't really make any other changes and thought that, with using the premade seitan, it cam together really quickly and was a nice and simple recipe.

I wasn't sure how Niall would like this recipe as it contained black olives, which I don't normally use, and raisins, which he's not usually too keen on - but he loved the combo!! And even commented on how he liked the olives!  I personally liked the raisins in it to give it a touch of sweetness.

We both really enjoyed this recipe and I found it more flavouful than I expected from the limited ingredients.  In fact we both enjoyed it so much that we had it again a few nights later!!  I must, must, must remember to make again.

Final verdict: quick and easy to make, and really tasty!
Final score: 5 out of 5 - WOW!

Viva Vegan - Peruvian Seitan & Potato Skewers

Ok ok, so I didn't really make this recipe, but kinda did!  I wanted a filling for soft tacos and remembered that I had made this a few years ago, so decided to base my filling on this for a change from our usual fillings.

I really only used the marinade for this recipe, as I made so many changes.....I didn't make them as skewers, didn't use the seitan recipe called for (Niall doesn't like homemade stuff and loves the stuff you can get in cans), didn't use potatoes and added some mushrooms instead.

I used the whole recipe for the marinade, but roughly half the amount of seitan (didn't really measure so not sure) and no potatoes - I wanted it quite saucy rather than a dry marinade, and if I remember I would do this again.

Having made all those changes, we loved the final result - Niall even commented how good it was.  He had been concerned that it would be vinegary as it had smelled quite strongly of vinegar as it was marinating but it wasn't.

My only real gripe was that it was quite oily but I guess that was because I cooked it all up in a pan rather than on skewers, maybe?

I have made this in the past as a pan fry thing with potatoes and that does work really we too, just wasn't what we were after this time.

Final verdict: great flavours, and with shop bought seitan a nice easy recipe
Final rating: 4.5 out of 5 (losing half a point for the oiliness)

Vegan Diner - Quick and Hearty Chili

For some reason I decided on chili a few weeks ago - I hadn't had one in ages, although we've been having plenty of fajitas, enchiladas, nachos.....why not chili!?
I used to have a go to recipe that was given to me by my sister, but I remembered making the Quick & Hearty Chili recipe from Vegan Diner a few years ago and it tasting remarkably similar to the recipe my sister had given me and that it only took about a quarter of the time.  So I grabbed Vegan Diner and that was the recipe I went to...

I made a few changes to suit what I had in and our preferences. The recipe calls for 2 cans of kidney beans - Niall isn't a super huge bean fan and I only had black beans in, so used 1 can of black beans.  I think if I had used the two cans called for it would have been too beany for my liking (and definitely too much for Niall).  To make up some of the bulk I added a bit more TVP (maybe an extra half a cup).
I also didn't use capsicum (bell pepper), as they are quite spendy at the moment and also Niall isn't keen on them.  So instead I added some mushrooms, as that was a staple in the recipe my sister gave me many years ago.

Aside from that I made the recipe as is, and I had forgotten how good it is!  It really does taste like it has been bubbling away for hours, when in actual fact it is quite a quick recipe to make.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this and I made a mental note not to leave it so long before making it again!

Final verdict: delicious, easy to make recipe
Final score: 4.5 out of 5 (losing half a star because would have been too many beans if I'd made the recipe as is)