I Heart Isa Mokowitz: Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes

 

From Amazon: This is not your mother’s low-fat cookbook. There’s no foolish tricks, no bizarre concoctions, no chemicals, no frozen meals…no fake anything! Appetite for Reduction means cooking with real food, for real life. (Skimpy portions need not apply.)

In Appetite for Reduction, bestselling author and vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz has created 125 delectable, nutritionally-balanced recipes for the foods you crave—lasagna, tacos, barbecue, curries, stews, and much more—and it’s all:

• Only 200 to 400 calories per serving
• Plant-based and packed with nutrients
• Low in saturated fat and sugar; high in fiber
• Drop-dead delicious

You’ll also find lots of gluten-free and soy-free options, and best of all, dinner can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. So ditch those diet shakes. Skip that lemonade cleanse. And fight for your right to eat something satisfying! Now you can look better, feel better, and have more energy—for health at any size.

My Review: This book has proven to be just as excellent as the rest. The OMG Baked Onion Rings are to LIVE for and with an assortment of tips on eating healthier, this book is for everyone. 

I Heart Isa Moskowitz: Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock

From Amazon: In Vegan with a Vengeance, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, host of the community access vegan cooking show The Post Punk Kitchen, brings the do-it-yourself, community-driven ethos of punk rock into the kitchen. Her cooking philosophy embraces being kind to animals (all recipes are completely animal-product free) and your wallet—while being creative and having fun in the process. She emphasizes staying clear of corporate brand-name foods, and says that cooking should be an innovative, experimental, and completely real experience. This one-of-a-kind cookbook offers 125 recipes for all meals of the day, from stuffed mushrooms to tofu pizza, gingerbread cupcakes to pasta with "alfreda sauce," and is full of tips and tricks on how to keep your diet vegan, inexpensive, and liberated.

My Review: One of my favorite cookbooks of all time by my favorite vegan chef, I've used the heck out of this book. Her corn chowder is a staple, and I love the mocha chip muffins. This book not only provides deliciousness, but provides great tips along the way. This one is a MUST have!

In the Kitchen With Shanna: Onion Rings, Vegetable Korma and Pasta Salad!

I've been in the kitchen a lot this past week, making so many delicious vegan delights. Once again I have to send my love to Isa Moskowitz for her amazing vegan cookbooks.  This week I've been focusing on her new one, Appetite For Reduction. The book focuses on low-fat, healthy options for vegans. After going raw, and cleaning out my diet, fried foods simply make me sick. I used to love fried pickles and onion rings, but sadly, they are no longer my friend. Until...Isa came along! She's created a fabulous OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings, which I made earlier this week. I also had some pickles on hand and thought, why not?

I served these with Garlic Aioli using a recipe modified from the Urban Vegan cookbook.

Garlic Aioli
Ingredients: 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup Vegenaise, 2 T lemon juice, 2 T olive oil, salt/pepper/garlic salt to taste

Directions: Mix everything in food processor until blended. Taste and add garlic seasoning as needed. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

This recipe for Vegetable Korma also comes from Isa's new book. Unfortunately, my pantry is really not stocked for unusual spices, however, this still came out tasting out of this world.

2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma

Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil, 1 small red onion quartered and sliced thinly, 3 cloves garlic, 2 T minced ginger, 2 tsp curry power, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 1/2 lbs cauliflower cut into florets, 1 pound zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices, 1/2 pound carrots peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices, 3/4 cup frozen peas, 3/4 cup light coconut milk, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: Preheat 4-quart pot over medium heat.Saute the onion in oil for 5 minute; Add garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Add broth, mix in spices. Add cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots.  Cover the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Add the peas, coconut milk, agave and cilantro. Turn off the heat and let the flavors meld for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with brown rice.

Shanna's Pasta Salad

Ingredients: 16 oz tri-colored pasta, one whole cucumber peeled and diced, 2 tomatoes diced, one bell pepper diced, 1 can black olives sliced, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, basil/oregano/garlic/salt/pepper to taste

Directions: Boil the pasta per bag instructions (Note: you could sub for a gluten free pasta if you have an intolerance). Chop all the veggies and place in a large boil. Mix the liquid ingredients. I do not measure my seasonings, but I would say I add a "dash" of the salt/black pepper, and a few teaspoons of each other seasoning. Drain the pasta and run cold water over it until it stops steaming. Add pasta to bowl of veggies, and toss with dressing. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

What's been cooking in your kitchen?


 

Getting Creative in the Kitchen: Chipotle, Corn and Black Bean Stew

 

I love to cook.  When I was a freshman in college, my roommates and I each had our assignments for keeping the room clean.  After a few weeks, my roommates learned that cleaning is not a skill I possess, and I was banned permanently.  So, I learned to cook, and discovered I had a talent for it. I believe the key is to look at recipes as jumping off points, rather than strict guidelines. Recipes were made to be modified, and sometimes you have to get a little creative when you misjudge how much of a certain ingredient to buy, or maybe have an allergy to something in the recipe. One of the chef's I admire is vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  The brilliant chef behind Post Punk Kitchen, and several incredible cookbooks, her recipes always inspire me. And the great thing is, she's a modifier too. Last night I made two recipes from her "Vegan With a Vengeance" recipe book, with my own special twist of course. 

Isa's Chipotle, Corn and Black Bean Stew

Ingrediants: 2 T olive oil, 1 large onion (quartered and thinly sliced), 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, dash black pepper, 2 chipotle peppers (canned, drained and rinsed), 1 28ounce can crushed tomatoes, 3 cups water, 4 russet potatoes (diced), 2 carrots (peeled and diced), 1 cup corn, 1 16ounce can black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 cup fresh cilantro, zest and juice of one lime

Directions: In a stockpot saute onions on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add rest of seasonings and saute another minute. Add chipotles, tomato, water and stir. Add potatoes and carrots, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes covered. Uncover, and add corn and beans and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Serve.

My modifications: I'm allergic to cumin, or at least I think I am, so I subbed cayenne pepper instead. I also traded the russet potatoes for Yukon gold, because they have a higher nutritional value. Note: This stew was very spicy, in the future I would cut out one of the cans of chipotle peppers and garnish with vegan sour cream or guacamole to cut down on the spice and add some creaminess to the stew.

The first night I served with biscuits, but the second time I made these delicious muffins, also from Isa's book. 

Mocha Chip Muffins

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp instant coffee powder, 1 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup canola oil, 3 T soy yogurt, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, coffee powder. In a small bowl whisk the wet ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing thoroughly, then fold in the chocolate chips. Place in a greased muffin pan and cook for 18-20 minutes.

My modifications: Well first, I only had brown sugar, so that's what I used. I didn't have any cocoa powder, so I used hot chocolate mix and added another 1/4 cup. I left out the coffee, used almond milk instead of soy, and olive oil instead of canola. I didn't have any vegan yogurt, so I used organic yogurt that I generally put on Triton's food, he didn't seem to mind. (ha!)

As I said, recipes were made to be modified. Be creative, don't be afraid to make changes that will improve your enjoyment. Want it gluten free? No problem! I highly recommend checking out Isa's delicious recipes and trying them out for yourself. Tempeh Reuben anyone? How about Peach Cobbler?