Monday, April 09, 2007

VT Crazy!

I went on a bit of a spree with the April 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times. I'm finding that after close to two years of seeming to cater to new vegetarians who mainly eat mock meats, they are featuring many more vegan-friendly recipes. Hooray!

I first made the Banana Walnut Bread. I was quite excited to use the agave nectar in my pantry for the first time, so I couldn't wait to see how it would fare in this recipe. I followed the instructions nearly all the way, but I used soft whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and used a few teaspoons of vanilla extract instead of the 3 tablespoons (!) that were called for. The verdict? Although I found that my version nearly matched the appearance of the mini-bread that was pictured on the page, I found the bread very bland and much preferred my own recipe.


Next, I made the 'Meatloaf' that was meant to be used in sandwiches. With a base of firm tofu and 'ground round', it was delicious! I even used old-fashioned oats instead of quick cooking oats, and although I was worried about the impact, the loaf turned out great.


I added some baked cubed sweet potatoes (4 small sweet potatoes with 1/3 cup veggie stock with a teaspoon of dried thyme baked at 375 degrees for 40 minutes) to serve along with it. I think it was my third time trying to convince Kyle that sweet potatoes were tasty, but to no avail. It's too bad that I've been unsuccessful in making them taste good to him, as they're so good for us!


Finally, I tackled the Vanilla Pound Cake with Lime Glaze. Since my loaf pan was occupied by the 'meatloaf', I used my muffin tin to make individual-sized poundcakes. Again, I followed the recipe nearly to a T, except I used whole wheat flour instead of cake flour, and doubled the amount of icing sugar for the glaze so it wouldn't be so runny. The verdict? Absolutely heavenly. To die for. Delicious. I only wish that I didn't take such a blurry photo.


As I typed this entry, I saw my 'bunny' - a friendly little visitor to my barren backyard. He's so darn cute. Kyle and I are planning to put in a garden this spring, so unfortunately, we'll be fencing it off so that 'bunny' doesn't eat all of our vegetables.

10 comments:

Judy said...

Sounds like your loaf relied on those 3 tbsp (?!) of vanilla for flavour!

I love sweet potatoes, and I could eat them every day. I know a lot of people who hate them though.

Amey said...

oh cool! thanks for some great looking VT recipes to try. I'm especially tempted by the pound cake and the meatloaf. I haven't made anything "meatloafy" in a long time!

Everyday Superhero said...

I've been meaning to try more of the VT recipes. I've only made the rice pilaf so far.

Sweet Potatoes? Love them!!!!

Tracy said...

Any poundcake leftovers??

Nikk said...

I want to make that meatloaf! I've been eyeing it since I got the issue!

The bunny is so cute!

aTxVegn said...

I'm glad I found this post because I plan to make the loaf this weekend, and not for sandwiches. I'm glad it was tasty. I also planned on sweet potatoes, but in fries form. It all looks great!

KleoPatra said...

Love yer blog. That bunny is sooooo cute! Aw, the fence, he needs to eat too!! *sigh* Hello to your scrumptious "meat"loaf ... lookin' gooooooooooooood! I am a big fan of sweet potatoes - i like what you did w/'em here.

urban vegan said...

I always buy Veggie mags, and then they sit in my basket and I never try the recipes. Your post is inspiring me to dig them out and make something new!

Kati said...

Aww what a sweet little bunny. Your banana bread looks just like the picture - too bad it wasn't as tasty as you'd hoped. I can't believe it called for 3Tbsp of vanilla! That seems a little excessive, but I guess they knew it was bland without it.

Pamela said...

What a sweet little bunny! People always ask me if I plan to let Tippy hop around in my yard in the summer, but my hard is about 75% patio stone and 25% vegetable garden, so really, would that be such a good idea? :)