I made two sauces. A roasted red pepper basil sauce and a creamy walnut pesto. I enlisted the help of the Ninja* in deciding on the sauce. He liked the pesto, but I had just spent all this time roasting peppers over the totally safe open flame of my gas burner. I tried mixing them together, but it was a weird light brownish color and didn't really do either sauce justice. So in the end I served it with both sauces. I think that worked out.
I totally forgot to get a photo earlier, so this is from the taster judging table and had been sitting around for awhile. I swear it tasted super awesome.
Basil Eggplant Ballz
1 large or 2 small eggplant sliced lengthwise and roasted on a grill or in the oven at 400 degrees
2TBS olive oil
1 handful of washed basil leaves (no stems)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup water or broth
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup bread crumbs (I like whole wheat panko)
Oil for frying
Blend roasted eggplant with olive oil, basil, salt, dried basil, Italian seasoning, and water. You can leave it chunky and it will be eggplantier or really smooth and it is meatballier. Those are real words.
Transfer the blended mixture into a medium mixing bowl and taste for seasonings. Add wheat gluten flour and bread crumbs. Mix it with your hands until it comes together then knead for a minute or so in the bowl. It may be really squishy at first, but you'll start to feel the gluten strands coming together as you knead.
In a cast iron skillet heat up a 1/2 inch of canola oil. Scoop out about a teaspoon for mini balls or tablespoon for bigger balls. Roll into a ball and pan fry on all sides until golden brown. Transfer to the oven to keep them warm.
Roasted Red Pepper Basil sauce
4 red peppers
1 big handful fresh basil leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic smashed
Roast red peppers carefully over the flame of a gas burner, in the oven, or on a grill. When the skin is charred, wrap in a paper towel and place in a plastic bag for about 15 minutes. The skin will peel right off. Cut off the top and pull out the seeds.
Blend roasted peppers with basil, salt, and garlic. Taste for seasonings.
Creamy walnut pesto
1 big handful fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup silken tofu
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp salt
Blend everything together until smooth. Serve meatballs in the red pepper sauce and top with pesto sauce.
Now for the rest of the Veggie Conquest chefs...
First place went to my buddy Cathy who has twice hooked me up with some wine at the Veggie Conquest.
Thanks Cathy and your dish was super awesome. This rockin' mezze plate featured some basil falafel. Everything was perfectly cooked and the flavors were well matched. Totally yum. 
Third place was an eggplant rollatini with a coconut sauce. There are 2 ways to go with basil. Italian and Thai and this one rocked them both.
Honorable mentions: 
Father daughter team made a terrific spaghetti and seitan dish. The seitan had a perfect chewiness and the chef said he both boiled it, then baked it. Whatever he did it rocked.
I love sticky rice and this dish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The bamboo wrapper is how it's cooked. Inside is the sweet sticky rice concoction. 
There was a whole lot goin' on in this dish. Lentils, tarot, I think a pear, and some fig. Really interesting blend of textures.
Everyone rocked and it was another jamin' Veggie Conquest. With tunes from Lil Ray and MCing by the Discerning Brute Joshua Katcher. Thanks to the organizer Jessica for another great event.
* The Ninja (aka my husband) has expressed that he wishes to be known henceforth as "the secret ingredient" - I really need a secret code name...
This month's Vegetarian Times features an article on Hummus Perfection. I've kind of gathered that starting with dried chickpeas usually comes out better than using canned, but even then sometimes it's better than others. The trick is to blend the chickpeas when they are STILL WARM. Who knew it was so simple. It does seem to make a difference. The hummus was super creamy and lush. I let it come down to room temp, topped it with some 
I'd already roasted eggplant, zucchini, onions, and garlic, so this was even easier to make than lasagna. I just roasted the potato layer, simmered the sauce, and blended the pine nut cream. Layer it all together and pop in the oven.
The pine nut cream gets a little crusty on top and really seals the deal on this dish. Totally easy and delicious.
I got way too many veggies going on from the 
Don't miss this giveaway 
The sauce is tofutti better than sour cream mixed with aji panca.
The aji panca is not too spicy, but has a really nice red peppery bite that is more bitter (in a good way) than a red bell pepper.
Steaming seitan is slightly easier than boiling it (honestly, I've never bothered baking seitan) and it has a nice finished texture. Because you wrap each steak up in aluminum foil, it keeps it's shape as it expands when steaming. Also I think it breaks apart a little better if you want to make crumbles out of it. I made these a few days ago when it was a little cooler, and I think they are even better after chilling in the fridge. 
Lemon lime aid is a summer must. Limes were 12 for $2 at the store, so I had to get them even without a plan for them. The lemons were organic, so I grabbed that bag, too, though I don't think they were as cheap. Instead of letting them linger and go bad in the fridge, I juiced them and kept the juice for other things. Here's the freegan part...instead of tossing the peels after juicing, plunk them in a large pitcher, cover with water, and pop in the fridge. By the time the water is cold, it's infused with all the juice you didn't quite get out of them and the oils from the rinds. You can add a little sweetener if you like, but I dig it straight up. Cool and refreshing.
Fast and easy pickles.
The secret to eating more grains and rice really is a fancy 
Sofrito is a mix of onions and peppers that adds the perfect seasoning to any Latin American cooking. Most people have their own special way to make it (mine originated from Daisy cooks,) but it's basic components are onions and peppers. I don't cook it first, (Terry's recipe in 
My new addition to the sofrito this time is aji peppers. I haven't been able to find them fresh, so I finally broke down and got the jarred ones. My local grocery store has a pretty good selection of Latin American items. 
The aji peppers are about the same spiciness of a jalapeno, but a little bigger and with a different flavor.
Essentially you could use any quick bread recipe and just take balls of the dough, dunk in sugar, and pop into a pan. Top with a sugar and melted earth balance mixture then bake at 375 for 30 minutes, and voila, monkey bread. I have a ton of zucchini, so maybe I'll try out a zucchini monkey break later this week. I'm all for sneaking vegetables in unusual places...
The educational information is available, but not too "in your face" because the animals really speak for themselves. In the case of the roosters, quite literally. 
The farm is very interactive and totally kid friendly. 
Everyone liked to be petted and the pig particularly likes the belly rub, though he couldn't really be bothered to wake up or anything. It was really hot out so most of the pigs were hanging out in the mud pond... 
We got the blinis which were an Indian spiced something over the little pancakes.
Seitan from last night (
The peas and tomatoes were from this weeks CSA. 
The "bacon", I picked up in a health food store. I also added a dollop of vegan sour cream. I used the Follow Your Heart one, which I think tastes a more like a thick yogurt than sour cream, but whatever, it's pretty good. You could also use some Tofutti Sour Supreme or Vegenaise.
Also in the CSA was a TON of broccoli, I used some here as a side dish smothered in miso tahini sauce. The "meat" is some Gardein with mushroom gravy. It's on top of a pile of Quinoa.
Miso Tahini Sauce
They kind of look like the mini mashed potato Devil's Towers from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but whatever, they were DELICIOUS. Also in my rush to get food out before tonight's premiere of True Blood, I totally forgot to add the nooch and soymilk to the sauce. What I did do was add a little liquid smoke and kombu when I cooked the black eyed peas. Black eyed peas have a lot of flavor for a bean. I should cook them more often. 
For dessert I whipped up some strawberries with cream cheese topping and fig balsamic vinegar. The cream cheese topping is powdered sugar mixed into some tofutti cream cheese, so it's kind of like a cheater cheesecake. The fig balsamic vinegar is just awesome. I usually choose one or the other to top berries, but both seemed like a pretty good idea, too. Yum. 
Kale, kohlrabi, purslane, lettuce, hydroponic tomatoes, red amaranth. The fruit share is strawberries. Extras are white and crimini mushrooms. I lucked out and got the last of the crimini.
Lunch is a 
The Tamale was INSANE! SO good. The chef even came back out to assure me it was vegan sour cream. 
Mom had the artichoke soup. I tried a bite (with a fork) and it was chilled, refreshing, and quite substantial. 
The Ninja had the eggplant artichoke dip which was super delicious. I should know because I ate about half of it myself. 
Chile Rellenos is one of my favorite dishes that I miss dearly. This version includes Daiya with butternut squash (and I think sweet potato, but I can't remember.) The chef had mentioned that she thought the Daiya was overkill, but I could definitely taste it and I think it made it even better. 
Vegan chocolate cupcake. It was warm and gooey. I was totally full by the time I got to this, but I devoured it anyway. 
Chillin' Cauliflower Soup
